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Gaica
}} The Gaica (ガイカ) is a Japanese 4.5×6 folder made and sold from 1940 by Riken Kōgaku Kōgyō (today Ricoh), in the Ōji plant. Made by Riken: , item 61. Ōji plant: Arimura, p.6 of no.14. This page of the Ricoh official website says that the camera was supplied by a subcontractor, perhaps by mistake. Description The Gaica is a vertical folder, copy of the Nettar with straight folding struts. There is a folding optical finder in the middle of the top plate, and a button on the right to release the folding bed. The advance key is at the bottom right. The back is hinged to the left and contains two red windows at the top, protected by a horizontally sliding cover. The name Gaica is embossed in calligraphic letters in the front leather. Evolution Original Gaica The Gaica was first announced in advertisements by Riken Kōgaku Kōgyō for the Olympic Four, dated March, April and June 1940, Advertisement in March 1940, reproduced in , p.104, advertisement in April 1940, p.A86, reproduced in this article and in , p.64, and advertisement in June 1940, reproduced in , p.64. with a Prontor II shutter giving T, B, 1–175 speeds and a 75/4.5 lens. In these documents, the camera is only announced for future release (予告); no price is indicated and no picture is provided. It seems that the camera was never released with an imported Prontor II. The features of this version anticipate the later Gaica II with Gaica shutter (T, B, 1–175). The original Gaica (ガイカ) This model is called "Semi Gaica" in Tanaka, pp.9 and 17 of no.14, and in this page of the Ricoh official website, but it is simply called "Gaica" in the original advertisements. has a Vario shutter. The shutter plate is inscribed VARIO at the top and has the AGC logo (for Gauthier) at the bottom. The 25, 50, 100, B, T speed settings are selected by an index at the top, and the release lever is located on the shutter housing itself. The lens is a Gaica Anastigmat 7.5cm f/4.5. This model of the Gaica was offered in an advertisement dated August 1940, Advertisement in , reproduced in , p.65. for — case ¥7 extra. It was listed in the official price list compiled in October 1940 and published in January 1941, for ¥80, , type 3, section 3B. and it was pictured in an advertisement dated March 1941. Advertisement in Gakusei no Kagaku, reproduced in Gochamaze. It was still in the official price list dated November 1941. , type 3, section 3B. At least one surviving example is known, pictured in an article in . Tanaka, p.17 of no.14. A small copy of the picture is reproduced in this page of the Ricoh official website. Gaica II The Gaica II (ガイカⅡ型) This model is called "Gaica Semi" in , p.333. has an added body release and a Gaica shutter (T, B, 1–175) made by Riken. Made by Riken: , shutter item 18-P-11. The shutter plate is marked GAICA at the bottom and has an RKK logo on the right (for Riken Kōgaku Kōgyō). The 175–1, B, T speed settings are inscribed on the shutter plate in that order. The Gaica II is mentioned in the January 1941 official price list cited above, for ¥88, , type 3, section 6A. and appears in the November 1941 price list too. , type 3, section 6A. The camera was advertised by Riken Kōgaku Kōgyō in the January 1941 issue of , where it is presented as a new model. Advertisement in January 1941, reproduced in , p.65. In the document, no price is indicated and the shutter is described as "of the Prontor II type" (プロンターⅡ型). The camera was pictured in an advertisement by Riken in the February 1941 issue of Gakusei no Kagaku, with no further detail. Advertisement in Gakusei no Kagaku February 1941, reproduced at Gochamaze. In the March and April 1941 issues of , the Gaica II was advertised by Doi Shōten, along with other cameras made by Riken. Advertisement in March 1941, reproduced in , p.104, and advertisement in April 1941, p.509. The price is given as , with ¥6.50 extra for the case. The camera appears as the "Semi Gaica" in the April 1943 government inquiry listing the Japanese camera production. , item 61. In this document, the lens is given as a three-element Gaica 75/4.5 made by Riken. , lens item Lc14. An actual example of the Gaica II has been observed with a K.O.L. Gaica Anastigmat 7.5cm f/4.5, certainly made by Kajiro Kōgaku or its successors Gojō or Kokusaku, and a regular Gaica shutter. Example pictured in this page of Gillman's blog. On this particular example the shutter plate is rotated 90° to the left, surely because it has been dismantled and badly remounted. Name Gaica can be written 凱歌 and then it means "victory song", but in the advertisements observed it is written ガイカ in katakana writing. During the war period, Riken used such "patriotic" names, as well as names reminding Japan's alliance with Germany. The Leica was also well known and highly regarded in Japan at the time, and the similarity in pronunciation would have been obvious. Notes Bibliography Original documents * . Advertisement by Riken Kōgaku Kōgyō in April 1940, p.A86. * . Advertisement by Doi Shōten in April 1941, p.509. * Type 3, sections 3B and 6A. * Item 61. * Type 3, sections 3B and 6A. Recent sources * Arimura Katsumi (有村克巳). "Rikō Ryakushi" (リコー略史, Ricoh short history). Pp.6–7. * Items 47–8, 52–3 and 323–4. * Page 333. * Tanaka Masao (田中政雄). "Rikō kamera no nagare" (リコーカメラの流れ, Evolution of the Ricoh cameras). Pp.8–11. * Tanaka Masao (田中政雄). "Senzen no kamera 2: Supuringu kamera" (戦前のカメラ2・スプリングカメラ, Prewar cameras 2: folding cameras). Pp.16–9. The Gaica is not listed in . Links In Japanese: * Pages of the Ricoh official website: ** Gaica in the Ricoh camera list (the given shutter speeds are erroneous), the page is copied in this page of the Kitamura Camera Museum ** article about Riken wartime camera names * Gaica II at Gillman's blog * Advertisements reproduced in the camera company page of the Gochamaze website: ** Advertisement for Riken cameras picturing the Gaica (fourth camera from the top), published in the February 1941 issue of Gakusei no Kagaku ** Advertisement for Riken cameras picturing the Gaica, published in the March 1941 issue of Gakusei no Kagaku Category: Japanese 4.5x6 viewfinder folding Category: Ricoh Category: G